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Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Kansas Legislature Defeats Prescription Cold Medicine Bill

The Kansas Legislature killed a bill in committee that would have required a prescription for the decongestant pseudoephedrine. Missouri is currently is considering a similar law. The chemical, which is the active ingredient in medications like Sudafed and Actifed, is used in the illegal manufacture of Methamphetamine. Some lawmakers would like to limit the availability of the drug to help in their fight against Meth, but others say making the medication prescription would put a burden on all people by making a costly and inconvenient trip to the doctor a prerequisite for using a safe and effective treatment for the common cold.

Currently, anyone purchasing medications containing pseudoephedrine have to provide an ID and purchases are logged in a database with info kept for two years. The system is real time and is designed to keep a "smurfer" as they are called from going from pharmacy to pharmacy buying small amounts of the substance.

The two states (Oregon and Mississippi) that currently have prescription pseudoephedrine laws on the books have reported a substantial decrease in Meth production. Laws like this can work, but we have to decide as a society if we are going to give up our rights to help fight the insidious Meth epidemic around the nation. I, personally am not in favor of these kinds of laws. I always stand on the side of more liberty, not less - but I do understand the other side. Meth is a horrible, horrible drug that truly destroys lives.

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